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Monday, January 30, 2012

So along with Valentine's Day and the Superbowl my little niece Brooke is turning 2 this month! I'm helping plan her Elmo birthday party. There was really no other choice for her birthday theme...the girl loves her some Elmo! I can't believe this cutie pie is turning 2!

Her mama (my fab sister-in-law Drew) and I have already begun full planning mode, as per usual. We wanted to make some cute bags for the litle Elmo goodies all the kiddos will get, so I came up with this super simple idea. It involves 4 items: red paper bags, googly eyes, orange stiffened felt and hot glue. All things you can find at Michaels. Plus, you get to buy googly eyes...which is just fun in itself :) We taught Brooke to say "googly eyes" but it sounds more like "Goo Goo Dolls." Apparently she's a fan of them too.

Trace out Elmo's nose in the felt. Be sure to get the stiff felt, it's easier to cut. A McCormick spice top is the perfect size for Elmo's nose :)

Using a hot glue gun, glue on the googly eyes and nose and you're done! You've got Elmo's cute little face on the goody bags.

If you're interested in more Elmo cuteness, you can look at my Elmo Pinterest page. Or if you want to go back in time to check out Brooke's first birthday party, you can do thathere.

I'll be featuring the full party in all its glory in a few weeks. Hooray for Elmo!

Sunday, January 29, 2012

After the holidays it always feels a little blah...no more Christmas trees, no festive music and less merriment overall.

...until about January 2nd when the Valentines Day decorations go up, that is. I must say, with the Valentine's Day holiday upon us and the Super Bowl coming even sooner, I feel quite merry. Here are some adorable ideas for Valentines from my always trusty Better Homes and Garden Magazine.

If you're looking for a Valentine that's appropriate for adults, you might want to try this. I made these tags for an upcoming Tablespoon.com article I wrote about beer. I can think of plenty of men (and women) who would be touched by this sentiment!

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Thanks to everyone who gave such a positive response to my "everything in moderation" blog. I appreciate the comments and emails. My favorite feedback was from my mom who called and said "You're just so adorable!" As if me waxing on about my desire to balance wine and cheese with exercise is adorable.

Only my mom thinks that's adorable :) Love you mom!

On the topic of moderation, let's talk about meatballs. HA! But seriously, let's talk about a great idea for your Super Bowl party... these adorable meatball sliders from BHG.com. Everyone will love them, and you can make them in the crockpot, which is a "touchdown" in my book. Hee-hee.

If you want to make them healthier, you can always make them turkey meatballs. But as we all know, turkey really doesn't hold a candle to it's beefier brother, ground beef. Mmmm. Live a little, it's the Super Bowl!

Make these mini treats even cuter with with free football printables from Living Locurto!

Monday, January 23, 2012

It's not often that I get super personal on this blog...besides sharing pictures of my precious niece, or highlights from our weekend trips, it's usually parties, food and prettiness. But since I've been working on a big overhaul of myself, I wanted to keep you all in the loop. Plus give myself some accountability...which is slightly scary! Going into this new year, I have plenty of goals. Honestly it's overwhelming to think about them all. But here's the one I'm focusing on the most.

Without going into explicit detail... Over the past few years, I've truly discovered my love for cooking, baking, cheese, wine and all things decadent. As one would expect, my body has well...how should we put it...responded accordingly.

Just FYI - I'm not the mom in Gilbert Grape who needed to be cut out of her house. But I'm not "happy" with my 5'2 frame right now, and I haven't been for awhile. Besides that, as much as I love bad-for- you, processed food, I heart farmers markets and the whole local food movement. Maybe it's turning 30 this year (shudder), but living a healthier, more balanced life is becoming very important to me. After all, I want to have the energy to conquer my crazy life and its sometimes crazy hours, and be the best wife, daughter, friend, event planner, fundraiser/marketing person I can be. It's hard to give your all if you're not at your healthiest, so that's what I'm going for.

To quote Joey from friends, I'm never going to be the person that's going to "eat half a power bar and save the rest for later." Let's be clear, I'm an eater. I could probably eat most people under the table. I freaking love food, in fact, you might call me a foodie (Side note: Mr. Fo despises that term...hence why I use it frequently). Carbs are my friend, pasta is my soulmate, cheese is in my blood. Basically I'm looking at a lifestyle change, with a variation of healthy foods, consistent exercise and my beloved not so healthy foods still fitting in my life, just maybe less. This is not an extreme diet where I'll lose 10 lbs in 2 weeks, it's a slow process, and I'm okay with it. I'm following this tried and true mantra:

So no judgement when you see my post after our Superbowl party where I plan to eat a lot of this...

and plan to make these...

Because I am not eating a freaking salad on Superbowl Sunday.That's not what this is all about. It's about enjoying life in moderation, and moderation includes plenty of beer and football food on the the super-est of all football days. Maybe I'll work out a little harder that week, but I'm not depriving myself because I know that won't get me anywhere

Am I still going to enjoy a piece of to-go wedding cake at 1 a.m. after I busted my arse all day making sure every detail was taken care of? No doubt. Am I going to have cheese plates and red wine with my girlfriends? If not, life would be pretty sad.

So, one step to this grand goal of healthy living? Consistent exercise. I've always been someone who goes to the gym for a few months and then get outs of the routine due to a trip, or some other life interruptus. Consistency with my workouts is not my forte, so I decided to set a goal to conquer this continuing pattern:

This a big deal because I'm not really a runner. I played soccer ages 5 through 18, but I always hated running, and frankly...I'm slow and have a funny looking run. Seriously, I hold my arms weird. But I needed a goal, and honestly, I needed some variation at the gym besides the elliptical machine. Plus, I think runners are cool. So even though I always thought I couldn't be a runner, maybe that's not true! Maybe I could be a runner? So I signed up for the race with some girls, bought myself the fancy new kicks and started training. It's interval walk/run training; it's not hard, but I've been enjoying it. I'm not just saying that, I really have been enjoying it. Will I be able to run 3.1 miles in March? I don't know. But I'm damn sure going to try.

So, to sum it up...is my goal to look like this?

Um that would be a big fat no. (Not only is it not my goal, it's not even possible. Gisele is like 7 feet tall.)

My goal is more about feeling better about myself, taking better care of myself and completing a goal that I NEVER thought I could do. And always making sure I can fit in the red wine, cheese and pasta when I can.

So, that's a little insight into my life right now. I hope you weren't creeped out or bored. Back to my regularly scheduled yummy food and party inspiration pics after this. I'll update you after my 5k! And if anyone has advice about running for a "beginner," I'd love to hear it. Hope everyone has a happy week!

I love the natural trend! It's perfect for people that don't want a super formal wedding. We saw some of this in 2011, in fact, one of my brides Katie did a great natural/rustic theme. See her wedding in the first two photos below:

Food trucks are SO huge right now..taco trucks, Asian food trucks, whatever you can cook on a truck, people are loving it! Imagine having a food truck pull up to your wedding for late night munchies...what a fabulous idea!

Monday, January 16, 2012

Now that we are well on our way through January, it's time to explore 2012 party food trends! I want to make sure my peeps are always in the know :) I found many articles online that predict food trends for 2012, here are a few:

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

My beautiful cousin Theresa is getting married in 2013. You can see her below with her fiance Mike :)

Ter, as she is affectionately known, wants a "vintage romantic" look with champagne, light pink and gold for the colors. I'm helping her research ideas. Here is some vintage romance inspiration for Ter's big day!